4 Ways to Control Diabetes

03/03/2021 R.C. Liley Leave a comment

Diabetes is a condition that can in some instances be controlled by diet, but in others, require medication. This is normally via an insulin injection. To know when blood sugar is not right, a meter can be used. This article will look at ways that we can control diabetes, including looking for the best glucose meter that we can find.

Glucose Meters

Blood glucose meters can generally be divided into three categories: invasive, non-invasive, and continuous. With the invasive type, a blood sample will be taken using a lancing tool, lancets, and testing strips. These components will be sold as part of a kit that can be purchased. With these kits, the strips and lancets will need to be replaced. Non-invasive kits will take measurements by way of physico-chemical sensors and usually from the arm to determine glucose levels. They are useful in eliminating the number of times someone has to inject insulin but are not as accurate as invasive tests. There can also be a problem with sensors staying in place.

The solution to both of these first two methods is a machine that allows for continuous glucose monitoring. There are blood glucose meters on the market that provide high levels of accuracy and can be worn on the arm, so can be taken anywhere. They generally have implantable sensors and remote transmission systems. They measure blood glucose levels that exist in the body’s intestinal fluid. They can more accurately calculate changes in blood glucose levels over a greater period. The continuous system is much less stressful for diabetics who no longer need to prick a fingertip each day. If you are the diabetic reading this, all that you need to know is how to use and maintain the machine. They come with good instructions and health professionals can help show you. They will be pleased that you have a Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) device and keeping a second close eye on your diabetes.

Diet (Food)

Whether you are controlling your diabetes with diet or insulin, which is where the above machine comes in, you will still need to think about what foods to eat or avoid with regards to your diabetes.

Anyone with diabetes should concentrate on eating lean protein and fewer carbohydrates that have been processed. As a recommendation anyway in a diet, fruits and vegetables are a good thing to eat. As are, healthy vegetable-based fats, including avocado, canola oil, olive oil, and nuts.

Eggs are a good source of protein for diabetes because they are low in carbohydrates and have a very low glycemic index score. The American Diabetes Association (ADA) has stated that eggs are suitable for those with diabetes.

Diabetes-Friendly Beverages

There is nothing better than water to keep you hydrated. The same goes if you have diabetes. Green tea is known to have a positive effect on health in general and coffee is okay for diabetics to drink, too. Other recommendations for drinks that are suitable to drink are low-fat milk and vegetable juice. Processed fruits are not so good because key nutrients such as vitamins will be at reduced levels. Also, canned fruits containing sugar should be avoided in cases of diabetes. You should also control the amount of sugar added to drinks.

Sleep

Not enough sleep can raise blood sugar levels, for those who are type 2 diabetics. So, this is something that you can do to help without any intervention other than going to bed sooner than a television show might let you. Sleep is good for health in general and re-energizes us ready for the next morning.

So, some of the best things that we can do if we have diabetes, or to advise those who have, is to buy a glucose meter to continually monitor diabetes, take care with diet, drink diabetic-friendly beverages, and allow ourselves enough sleep. It will help the condition and please the health professionals, too. There is nothing better than self-management of a condition.

Health, Life, Lifestyle, Parenting

An Individual Approach: Helping Your Teen With Image Issues

03/02/2021 R.C. Liley Leave a comment

image issues, parenting, teens, teenager, growing up, personality, — Pixabay – CC0 License

If you remember back to when you were a teenager, low self-esteem probably was a big part of your life. So many people don’t feel confident in themselves. And it’s incredibly heartbreaking when your own flesh and blood view themselves as inadequate. Teenagers can have image issues, as we all do. But what can we do to help our teenagers develop more confidence, but also fix the deep-rooted psychological issues?

Encourage Role Models of All Sizes and Aesthetics

After you address what the issue is, you can help to encourage a wider variety of solutions. When your child has image issues relating to something aesthetic, sometimes these things can be fixed. For example, something like problems with their teeth can be easily remedied with SmilePath clear aligners instead of braces. But we have to remember that insecurity stems from feeling alone or singled out. When we start to highlight that they are not alone, and there are others who are similar, we can start to show that there isn’t a single ideal of what we want to look like. In other words, nobody is perfect.

Consider the Impact of Social Media

If you were lucky enough to escape social media until your late twenties, you might not realize the impact it is having on your child. Social media has shown that it can impact how young women and men see their bodies. There’s plenty of debate around the negativity associated with social media. And with regards to body image, you’ve got to remember that social media is a rabbit hole of negativity, especially when it comes to imagery.

Look at Your Own Insecurities

Our children learn, consciously and subconsciously, from ourselves. We have to be open and honest about how we feel about ourselves. And this is difficult, but it provides a perfect template for your child. Because you might think you are the only person experiencing issues, and when you start to see that your teenager is beginning to feel insecure about how they look, you can share your insecurities and start open and honest conversations. This will help them to feel less intimidated when it comes to talking about their own feelings. But also remember that you have to practice what you preach. We will always pass on our emotions to those closest to us. And if our children have body image issues, we will need to look at ourselves as well.

Focus on Body Positivity

Body neutrality and body positivity is the baseline. And it is difficult to go from negative perceptions of oneself to the positive. But there are support groups that can help, and it’s so important to find those that offer a supportive space for people who struggle to love themselves. Learning to raise a happy child is not just about giving them love, but it’s about making them realize that everybody is individual. When people are tainted with a negative view of themselves, it colors their entire life. But there are ways for you to help.

Going Healthy, Health, Life, Tips

What to do when you have a chronic toothache

03/02/2021 R.C. Liley Leave a comment

A toothache is a pain like none other. It can often start as a dull sensation and gradually become one of the worst pains you may have ever experienced. Unfortunately, many things can cause a toothache, from getting food stuck between teeth to more internal problems like shifting teeth. Whatever the cause, there are a few ways you can manage the pain as soon as it hits. If you’re experiencing a toothache, you’ll likely need some emergency toothache relief, so you’ll certainly need some tips!

Take some pain medicine

It may seem obvious, but not even people take pain medication when experiencing a toothache. This ache is just like any other ache in your body, and it can be treated the same way. By taking some painkillers, the pain of a toothache should start to fade in a matter of minutes. Most painkiller packaging will say that you can begin to feel the painkiller’s effects after 20 minutes or so, but you can sometimes the results more quickly. After a few hours, you can then take another dose of your preferred painkiller to keep the pain at bay.

Clean your mouth

It’s common for food to be the leading cause of toothache. Even if we have no visible gaps in our teeth, food can still work its way between teeth and get stuck. The gums in our mouths can then react to this food, causing inflammation and pain. Although it might be a little sore, brushing your teeth can dislodge any food that may be stuck. If this happens, after a few minutes, the swelling will begin to go down, and the pain will ease. You will probably want to rinse your mouth a few times to ensure that any remanence of food or bacteria is removed. You can do this with an antibacterial mouthwash or a saltwater rinse. If you can feel something that is lodged between teeth and brushing can’t remove it, trying using a toothpick. You may be able to wiggle something out between your teeth. Remember to be careful though, you don’t want to push anything deeper into the teeth. Alternatively, use clean tweezers to try and dislodge anything.

Watch what you eat

The last thing you need to be eating is anything chewy, crunchie, or hard. This can easily irritate a sore tooth as well as cause even more pain. Think of a bruise, the more you press it, the more it hurts. The same logic applies to a toothache. The more pressure you add to a sore tooth and the more you make it work, the more painful it can become. The area can become more inflamed, and the pain can begin to travel further down the tooth, creating a more significant wound. Ideally, you would eat soft foods or stick to liquid foods, like soup. This eases the pressure on any tooth. If toothache occurs because of a cavity, any tough food can make it worse, especially chewy sweets. Stick to the foods your teeth can cope with to save yourself endless pain.

Garlic has a powerful compound called allicin which is actually an antibacterial property. Eating foods with garlic can clean the mouth and rid of any infection that may be brewing. You could even eat it raw for maximum benefit, although it may give your smelly breath.

Embrace cold

There are two ways that you can embrace the cold when it comes to toothache. Firstly, you can use a cold compress to help reduce the swelling, easing pain. With a small ice pack or even a cold compress, you can hold down on your tooth, reducing inflammation. For example, say you have a toothache because of a wisdom tooth, you could hold a small ice pack to the bottom of your cheek and feel the pain ease. It may take some time for the cooling effects to work, but they will. Secondly, you can also embrace the cold by drinking ice cold water. The almost freezing water can almost numb part of your mouth so that you won’t experience too much pain. This also has the added benefit of keeping you hydrated, which can also combat pain as your body is feeling prepared for anything.

If your toothache persists and lasts for several days, you will need to see a dentist. You could have an infection underneath the tooth, or teeth could be grinding together and wearing each other down. Whatever the cause, a dentist will be able to take a better look inside your mouth and try to resolve the problem.